It never helps to get pissed at any law enforcement officer unless you're a lawyer or their boss. They can screw you around for hours at the least and throw your ass in jail for any perceived infraction. It's wrong but that's how it works. Begging works better.
They're simply too stupid to understand logic and they're calloused from all of the aggression that they receive every day. Sometimes loud whining motivates them.

Probably worth writing that incident up and reporting it to your local Congressman, and having them do something about it. There's no need for the TSA goons to be rude and hostile as well as stupid. That's an abuse of their authority, and if you let them get away with it...it'll just get worse. I've gotten at least two TSA goons canned for less egregious behavior.

I have to agree SD, too often issues that should be reported are not because one feels nothing will come of their efforts. The larger problem is without reporting issues whether TSA or or you local grocer, the people that need to know are never made aware and the individual or problem moves onto a more drastic situation.

Last June we flew to Florida for vacation. Our entourage consisted of a motley crew of a 70 yr old man, a 60 yr old woman, me (suspect looking) my wife, a 36 yr old woman with pink hair and a cane, and my son, an 11 yr old dwarf. We were profiled as terrorists. They wrote a big SSSS in red on all of our tickets and we got the extra special search at every security checkpoint at every stop both ways. At one airport a big burly very black man with dreadlocks gave me the patdown.
During our 3 hr layover I went outside to enjoy a cigar and on the way back in I got the extra special search again. The man who greeted me asked if I had just been through the checkpoint and I explained that I had gone out to smoke. He said that they had to do the whole explosive swab, metal detector, patdown thing again. I sad OK, but I want that guy to pat me down again, I liked him a lot.
I promised to go through again as well, as long as I could continue to get patted down by Rasta Man.
You gotta watch out for those 11 yr old dwarves, everyone knows that they're all Al Quaida!
BTW, the TSA guys will not take a group photo for you, nor will they pose with your group. I tried.

Alex,
First let me begin by saying this is only my 2nd post here on SailNet and I hope you will forgive me for making a not so sailing related post. But since you are from Portugal and I have been there a couple of times you may find this interesting. About 20 years ago when I arrived my first time in Portugal on my way to Lisbon via Madrid by train we stopped at the border at a small town on the Portuguese side to deal with customs. When we stopped and the train doors opened, one official entered from the front entrance door and one from the back entrance door, the official in the front of the car had a German Sheppard dog which he let run through the car sniffing everybody and everything along the way. The dog of course stopped at my seat to sniff my lunch (some cheese and a couple of peaches in a paper bag) before exiting with the official at the rear door of the car. The train proceeded onto Lisbon with no further delays where I had a very enjoyable visit.
I would like to add also that one of my favorite excursions on my most recent trip to Portugal was a ferry trip from the small fishing village of Peniche to the island of Berlengas where we hiked across the island to the Forte S. João Baptista, a very beautiful and interesting place.

We had the chance to have the TSA function performed by civilians. As if we didn't know what we'd get with government functionaries. Israel uses civilians but what the heck do they know about airline security? Cheaper too! It's correct, you cannot challenge the pricks. I had my entire room disassembled on a ship over what I thought was a simple misunderstanding with a Customs officer. Took me all the way to Baltimore from New York to screw all the bulkheads back together and rebuild the bunk!

One thing you might want to do if, say, you're bringing in Cuban cigars. Get rid of the box and the bands and put them in a zip lock bag. Then claim them as a gift or something from somewhere else.

Also, declare everything! You can declare a Rolex watch for $100 and they'll probably just give you a knowing look or, at worst, try to make you declare it for more or demand a receipt for the ludicrous price. All that's just fun and games. But, fail to declare it and you're going to lose it and you might even make "the list". The list means that your life will become a living hell for a number of years to come. Until someone decides they've never found any contraband on you and takes you off the list. There's approximately one guy in the entire customs service with the common sense and intelligence to do this and I think he's working the office in Adak. Declare everything; then you can never be accused of trying to smuggle.

So, there we were in the heat of New Mexico......the Rio Grande River starting to look pretty good......
I stripped down to butt naked and inflated two...no....three condoms. Those things can really get huge when filled with hot air. Always wondered how the electronically tested those things.....hmmmm...but I digress......
Took butt naked self and floated three tied together condoms in river perching said clothesless self in between condoms. A life raft is you will but is was certainly stronger than the inflatable duck I normally river raft on....
It had been a long night of tequila shots in the hot arid winds of the foreign country of New Mexico and after a 12 pack of 3.2 Oklahoma beer I somehow went to sleep.
Not sure how much time had passed but I woke up to a "thump" and the feeling of a baynet deflating my condoms. As I opened my eyes, there in front of me were to of Mexico's (old mexico not new mexico) finest.
"eh, Gringo, me thinks you've been in the sun two long. You are lewking like my mama's chili peppers"....
"What u be smuggling in the condoms mr. chili pepper?" the other border guard asked.
"Uh, nothing meester" I replied doing my best to sound like a native....
"U woodn't beee geeting smart weeth me would U" snapped back the first border guard....
"No sire, I'm just trying to fit in".......
At that point I was snatched up and thrown butt naked into a dirt floor mexican (Old Mexico) jail cell with a rather portly man with a large mustache. A smile erupted underneath the mustache as he saw me.........
"Ah, senior, it seeeeems that I have acquired a lovely companion for my long stay here" he said......
Uh Oh......was the only thing I could think of through the tequila hang over...........

As a Mariner I will need to get a TWIC card. The thing is the bloops at the air port didn't know what my Mariner's document was, and the USCG issued it to me and they are a part of Homeland Security also... but that indiot just stood there looking at it for a full two minutes. I think he had fried a few brain cells while they were training that idiot.

I just applied for my TWIC last week. It left my wallet $132.50 lighter and myself not impressed with the TSA whatsoever. For those of you that don't know the TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Credential) will be required for entry into ports, railroads, and anything even slightly DOT related starting towards the end of the year. I don't think the rollout date is the same everywhere but in the Mobile area it is Dec. 30.

The great minds of our government will now require a background check, fingerprints and aforementioned $132.50 for each CG licensed mariner, shipping agent, stevedore, longshoreman, railroader, truck driver, and anything else you can think of that works around any port, railyard or bridge, etc. Oh, and add offshore oil platforms to that too. Everyone in my company needs one since it is pretty hard to do dive work without encountering one of these situations.

After filling out my TSA questionaire, paying my money, and giving them my fingerprints, I really felt no safer. Personally this seems to be a precursor to some sort of national ID system.

If any of you need a TWIC I would recommend getting it soon, and preregister online. It saves a lot of waiting time. They do allow you to make appointments at the processing center. Also it takes about six weeks to get one so keep that in mind.

You'd think that one department of Homeland Security—the TSA—would recognize the credentials being issued by another department of of Homeland Security—the USCG.... wouldn't you??? but no...doesn't happen. I was at the airport with a friend of mine...and they were trying to use a TWIC as an ID for getting on the plane... the idiot TSA goons wouldn't recognize it as a government issued ID...

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Telstar 28
New England

You know what the first rule of sailing is? ...Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take
a boat to the sea you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps
her going when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurting 'fore she keens. Makes her a home.

—Cpt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity (edited)

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